Advent-ure Day 5: Faithful Throughout the Ages

The sending of Jesus to earth is a tangible expression of the faithfulness and love of God toward all humanity.  God has been faithful to His people, and He calls us to respond in obedience to Him.
Proverbs 3 says:
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,
4 And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

We are commissioned to walk in His truth, and we can do that as we allow His words to govern our lives; as the Bible verse says, we are to "write" those words on our hearts.  How do we do that?  Through careful study of Scripture and meditating on what He would teach us.  He is equipping a faithful people, who walk as His disciples, allowing Christ to occupy the first place of our lives, walking by faith in the One Who showed His faithfulness by giving His life for us.

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We are now into Day 5 of our 25-day Christmas Advent-ure, entitled, Sing Unto the Lord!  You can obtain the Faith Radio Advent Guide free of charge through FaithRadio.org.  There is a corresponding Christmas song and short Scripture passage for each day through the 25th.

Today's song is O Come All Ye Faithful.  And, today I want to reflect on God's faithfulness to His people and how He calls us into a life of love for and obedience to Him.

In Luke 2:15, we see that after the shepherds had received the message about the birth of Jesus from
the angels, they responded:
15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us."

It was one of Jimmy DeYoung's Top 10 Daily News Stories at the website, ProphecyToday.com, on November 21.  His summary said this:

* Straight from the Bible: Tiny First Temple stone weight unearthed in Jerusalem Volunteer at City of David sifting project finds rare 'beka' measure, used by pilgrims paying half-shekel tax before ascending to Temple Mount, in dirt from dig near Western Wall.

The website has a link to The Times of Israel site, which quotes "archaeologist Eli Shukron, who directed the excavations on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority." He says, "This is a word that is used both inside and outside of the Bible. You don’t need to ask too many questions, just open the Bible and see it. It’s very simple. You can see beka written in the Bible and what it was used for, and there you have it..."  And, in a stunning statement, Shukron declares, "The Bible, the artifact found close to Solomon’s Temple, north of the City of David, the Temple foundations – everything is connected..."

Baptist Press had an article about the discovery.  It stated:

Daniel Warner, professor of Old Testament and archaeology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, told BP the beka's discovery helps confirm the existence of Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed more than 2,500 years ago.

"Note clearly the precise location of the find," Warner said in written comments. "It is where one would expect it to be found ... just below the southwest corner of the Temple Mount proper. This would place it before the entrance to the Solomonic Temple," where Jews would have needed to measure out their Temple tax.

The article says, "The only remaining Temple structure in Jerusalem is the Western Wall, which was part of the Second Temple constructed by Jews after they returned from exile in Babylon."  Throughout the years, Jimmy DeYoung has discussed the certainty of a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount, even though there are those that would deny it.  This is another piece of compelling evidence.

Steve Andrews of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, in the Baptist Press article, points out the two instances in which the word "beka" appears; the article says:

It appears once in Genesis 24:22 when "Abraham's servant gives a gold earring or nose ring weighing a half-shekel to Rebekah after she watered his camels." And it appears again in Exodus 38:26 when "a half-shekel weight of silver is required of each Israelite during the construction of the Tabernacle."

There is so much rich Biblical history centered around the Temple Mount, also known as Mount Moriah, which is where Abraham brought His son, Isaac, to be sacrificed.  In fact, during that narrative, we read that Abraham declared that God would provide the sacrificial Lamb, which is a reference to Jesus.  Later, the first Temple, known as Solomon's Temple, was erected on the same mountain.  The second Temple, Herod's Temple, also occupied that area.  And, it has been taught that the third Temple that we read about in Bible prophecy will likewise be built on the Temple Mount.

We recognize that God has been faithful to His covenant people - those who are the Jews, whom He chose and announced to Abraham, as well as those of us who have been brought into God's family through Jesus and the new covenant.  And, the Old Testament is full of verses that illustrate how God is calling His people to a life of faithfulness and obedience to Him.  We can rejoice in our spiritual ancestry and seek to carry on a legacy of devotion to the Lord.

We also remember that God has preserved His people, and He continues to draw us into a relationship with Him.  The Word of God has survived, the people of God - the Church - continues to be the primary unit through which God accomplishes His will on the earth.  We can choose to link up with Him to see His work done, or we can reject Christ and find ourselves outside of His Kingdom plan.

And, it is encouraging that time and again, archaeology confirms the teachings of the Scriptures.  There are hidden treasures that have been discovered, and while our faith should not be based on such discoveries, those discoveries certainly affirm our faith.  In a similar manner, there are numerous scientific discoveries that are also consistent with Biblical teaching.  God is faithful, He continues to be, and He calls us, the faithful to be confident in following Him.